Ex-Red Bull Driver Offers Realistic Verdict On Performance Woes - 'On The Back Foot'

Saajan Jogia | Sep 8, 2024

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (11) during the F1 Sprint Race at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard noted that the team's recent performance slump has cost them their dominant position in recent races. While he acknowledges that the RB20 is no longer the "benchmark" for pure performance as it was last year, he believes Red Bull has the potential to reverse the situation and regain its competitive edge.

Max Verstappen dominated the early part of the 2024 season when he won seven races out of the first ten Grands Prix. However, his momentum faltered following the Spanish Grand Prix in June, with the three-time world champion only managing two podium finishes since.

Due to a mid-season upgrade on the RB20 that brought unexpected side effects, Red Bull is still struggling to find its footing. Although the upgrade was eventually removed, it disrupted the car's balance, causing Verstappen to suffer from severe understeer in the races following the summer break.

His teammate Sergio Perez was on the verge of being ousted from Red Bull despite his 2025 contract extension in June due to a drop in performance. He recently explained that while Verstappen wasn't initially experiencing the same issues as him, both drivers are now grappling with similar performance challenges in the car.

Coulthard outlines the current situation at Red Bull and offers insights on what the team must do to fend off McLaren's challenge in both championships. The Papaya outfit trails Red Bull in the top by just eight points in the Constructors' Championship, while Lando Norris trails Verstappen by 62 points in the Drivers' Standings. Speaking to Channel 4 during the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza, as quoted by Crash.net, he said:

“They are definitely not as hot as they were. The lap time doesn’t lie.

“They are on the back foot. The upgrades haven’t worked.

“They are no longer the benchmark in terms of outright performance. They know that. They can’t hide from it.

“They need to get the group of people that have designed a brilliant race car last year - a car which has won seven races this year, but the upgrades aren’t working - they need to find something.”

Sadly for Red Bull, its chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, the mastermind behind the team's title contender and its dominance in the ground effect era, announced his departure in May, slated for 2025.

Highlighting Verstappen's poor qualifying result at Monza, where he secured the seventh spot, only to finish sixth in the race, Coulthard added:

“That just shows the difficulty he had. He never got his last two qualifying laps right.

“That is very unusual for Max. He might make a mistake on one - but on both? To be at the same lap time as Checo [Perez]?”

He added:

“We know he’s feisty, he’s got a lot of passion.

“When you’re winning, everybody loves you. When things aren’t going well, that raw passion comes through again.”

However, Red Bull still has time to bounce back and save its championship position. The former F1 driver said:

“They can control it. But they need to unlock some potential in that car.

“The upgrades haven’t worked. But it’s within their capabilities. They have still won seven grands prix this year.”